An announcement by the Tasis government, a coalition of military and political groups led by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North/Al-Hilu (SPLM-N/Al-Hilu), in February sparked widespread debate after it declared plans to hold its own secondary school examinations in RSF-controlled areas of Kordofan and Darfur. The move came after the Education Ministry of the “Hope Government” in Port Sudan announced that the Sudan National Secondary School Examinations (SNSSE) would be held on April 13 in the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF)-held areas.
In Early March, the Tasis Technical Committee for Secondary School Exams (TTCSSE) set June 4 to June 16 as exam dates across all controlled areas.
According to a source in South Darfur civil administration, the Tasis government’s announcement to hold exams next June is an attempt to save the future of hundreds of thousands of students in Darfur and Kordofan who have been denied exams for three consecutive years, estimated at about 150,000 in South Darfur alone, suffering from accumulated cohorts.
The source told Atar that “This ambiguous situation and loss of years and educational future have created immense pressure on families and students who fear losing years of their lives due to armed conflict.”
Exam registration forms amid weak turnout
In press statements, Hafez Omar, the head of the TTCSSE said theY officially approved holding secondary school certificate exams on June 4. The committee also officially approved the operational schedules and said exam centres will be determined inside Sudan and abroad.
Omar called on parents to register their sons and daughters in all education departments, centres, states, localities and schools, and to attend refresher studies to prepare them well for sitting the exams, announcing distribution of special registration forms to all states through their education directors.
He directed education directors in RSF-controlled states and allies to prepare conditions for students to sit secondary exams, saying centres will be distributed across rural and urban areas according to security conditions set by regional and state committees. He said the committee opened communication with UNICEF and UNESCO to support coordination and success. Atar contacted the UNICEF office in Sudan to verify those statements, but by the time of publication, no response had been received.
Speaking at a press conference, Youssef Mohammed Youssef, the South Darfur’s civil administration chief, said his administration is committed to training 5,000 education leaders and teachers, marking the effective beginning of academic preparations for the examinations and coinciding with the TTCSSE’s commencement of its work.
TTCSSE allocated the registration forms to count and register students sitting for this year’s exams and distributed it to all schools across areas under its control.
The form has, however, faced weak response from parents, according to a teacher at Grade Five level in South Darfur who spoke to Atar. He says only 25 forms have been completed so far.
The Ministry of Education under the Tasis government sends registration forms to local education departments, which then forward it to school administrations to be filled out with available student data without the student seeing it, before being returned to the ministry. The form includes the student’s details and a recent passport photo, after which the student pays examination fees.
Abdul Jalil Mustafa (pseudonym), a seventh-grade teacher, told Atar that more than half of schools in South Darfur State have collapsed at varying levels with some fully destroyed by artillery shelling, others partially and some looted of furniture.
He says only 17 schools are currently operating in Nyala, Bileil locality and Kalma camp and most of the workers are volunteer teachers from varied academic backgrounds, unrelated to education and lacking teaching skills.
“But we work in exceptional circumstances and have no other options so we will manage it this way,” he said.
Division Debate
Educators say parallel exams entrench national division and signal an undeclared split, as the SNSSE has long stood as a symbol of unity and a standardized national benchmark uniting Sudanese students across the country.
In this context, education expert Safi al-Nour Juma Kafi told Atar that two exam systems mean duplication of decision-making and fragmentation of educational centralization.
Kafi criticized politicizing education and using it as a pressure tool, saying each party views the move as an attempt to assert sovereignty and control state institutions, warning that turning education into a pressure card in conflict threatens neutrality and credibility of SNSSE, including the government in Port Sudan.
He called for the establishment of an independent national professional committee that transcends division and neutralizes education from political and military conflict. The committee, he said, should be composed of education experts to supervise a unified comprehensive exam for all Sudanese students, ensuring justice and preventing deprivation due to geography.
The option of an independent committee is safest and wisest to spare students from consequences of political division, but implementing this requires genuine will to prioritize next generation interests over temporary military gains, Kafi added.
While some see Tasi’s step as an emergency solution for affected students, others fear it could become a final nail in the coffin of unity of Sudan education system, potentially leading to two generations with different certificates that do not recognize each other.
Safi al-Nour also views the Tasis move as a reaction to examinations conducted in SAF-controlled areas, noting that the issue of SNSSE under exceptional circumstances in Port Sudan or Nyala is complex as educational and academic aspects intersect with political and logistical dimensions.
“Certainly, postponing examinations for years is, from a purely educational perspective, an academic disaster leading to cohort accumulation and overcrowding of students in one stage. Prolonged interruption of students for a long period away from education leads to weakened academic skills and difficulty returning to education,” he said. He, however, reaffirmed the political nature of any decision during wartime, noting that holding exams in this way is a political decision, not a technical or professional one.
Students at a crossroads
But how am I supposed to sit the exams?
Fatima, student from West Kordofan
“But how am I supposed to sit the exams?” Fatima began in remarks to Atar, her question quickly giving rise to many more after being denied the SNSSE for three consecutive years.
Born in Babanusa in West Kordofan, she completed the first and second primary grades there before moving with her family to Kalma camp in South Darfur, where she sat for the eighth-grade exam in 2020. She achieved strong results that fueled her ambition for secondary school. She later moved again to Nyala to begin secondary education, but before the 2023 exams, war broke out.
Fatima told Atar the question of sitting the SNSSE has lingered in her mind for three straight years. She has had no clear answer, only a mix of fear that resurfaces whenever she sees the warring parties’ persistence and reliance on violence, and a deep determination to succeed.
Despite everything, she continues to study hard, hoping to secure marks that will allow her to pursue neurosurgery.
“Ten of my classmates traveled to sit for exams in eastern Sudan, but my family refuses to let me take the exams scheduled in Nyala, citing insecurity and instability and doubting whether exams will even be held amid deteriorating economic conditions and widespread destruction of infrastructure,” Fatima said.
Abbas Omar Moussa, a secondary school student living in Al-Nahda neighbourhood in Nyala and preparing for the exams, told Atar he went to school and found that half of his third-year classmates had traveled to eastern and northern Sudan.
Ahmed al-Jabri, a parent from East Darfur now living abroad, told Atar he fears for his son’s future and does not trust the exams the Tasis government plans to hold next June. He says such certificates may carry no legal future, particularly for students seeking to study abroad, noting that certificates are typically accepted only after authentication by the Ministry of Education, then the Foreign Ministry, and finally the embassy of the destination country.
Al-Jabri questioned whether Sudan’s internationally recognized Foreign Ministry would certify certificates issued by an education authority affiliated with a rival military force, warning that students could end up holding documents with no legal value beyond their geographic area, potentially barring them from scholarships or studying abroad.
“My son, we farm the land not knowing whether rain will fall or locusts will devour the crop. But we must plant.” That was the reply Khadir Bashir’s father, whose name changed for security reasons, gave when his son asked: “If I pass, where will I study university?”
The exam is a restoration of dignity, my final attempt to prove my dreams were not buried beneath the rubble of war.
Khadir Bashir, secondary school student in West Darfur
Khadir, a secondary school student in Al-Jenaynah, West Darfur, is preparing to sit for the exams in his city next June, as promised by the Tasis government.
He told Atar that he now stands at a crossroads he never imagined while revising lessons in early 2023, when he had hoped for a calm exam season that would lead him to study Medicine at university. He described his feelings as more than ordinary exam anxiety, but an existential struggle between holding on to a chance at life and fearing he is chasing a mirage.
“After three years of bitter waiting, I see this announcement as a chance to break the cycle of enforced idleness. The exam, for me, is a restoration of dignity as a student. It is the final attempt to prove that my dreams were not buried beneath the rubble of war.”
“At last! I will break free from the prison of waiting.”
For him, the announcement was a recognition that he is still a “student,” not merely a “displaced person” or a “survivor.”
Khadir told Atar he sees himself standing in a “gray zone,” recalling a classmate who moved to Egypt to study and another who took up arms with the Rapid Support Forces, studying for a certificate that may open no doors, yet remains the only key he has to knock on the future.
Khadir says he now feels that time, which stalled in 2023, has finally begun to move again, yet he remains haunted by the question of “legitimacy,” noting he understands the certificate is as much a passport to the world as it is an academic achievement.
Despite his excitement to sit the exams, the fact that it may be issued by an authority not recognized internationally, or even nationally by existing higher education institutions, leaves him feeling as though he is building on shifting sand.
Divided exam systems
The Sudan National Secondary School Examinations is the last social contract binding students to the unity of Sudan.
Secondary school principal, West Kordofan
A principal of a secondary school in Al-Mujlad locality, under RSF control in West Kordofan, told Atar there are no preparations for exams in the state, warning that many secondary school students have joined local armed groups or migrated to oil fields and gold areas to support their families, sharply reducing the number of exam candidates.
He said more than half of male students in his locality have abandoned or neglected their studies due to the absence of a clear path toward examinations.
The principal told Atar he learned of the exams announced by the Tasis government through the media, saying:
“There has been talk of exams in Tasis-controlled areas, but as of late March, no official directive, such as the registration form, has reached us, and we heard they would send it soon.”
He added that some students, including the 2023, 2024 and 2025 cohorts, are still attending school intermittently due to war, displacement and the instability that follows.
He revealed that the majority of current students in Al-Mujlad are female, saying:
“Male students are very few. In the past, we focused on girls’ education, but now we need initiatives to bring boys back into classrooms.”
The principal also noted that many teachers have left the profession or fled Tasis-controlled areas to other parts of Sudan and abroad, fearing what he described as potential legal repercussions in the future for participating in what could be deemed informal or unrecognized education processes.
He told Atar teachers in Tasis-controlled areas are extremely scarce, warning that conducting exams there exposes education staff to security and legal risks that could bar them from practicing their profession in the future.
He argued that the SNSSE is more than an academic test as “It is the last social contract binding Sudanese identity and their children’s future to the unity of the state.”
He said the insistence on politicizing this file and turning it into a tool for asserting sovereignty threatens to dismantle standards of quality and recognition that have endured for decades, while also risking the loss of years from students’ lives.
He stressed that the way out of this dark tunnel does not lie in divided exam systems, but in an independent national educational platform that shields education from conflict and guarantees every student, in Nyala, Port Sudan, and refugee camps, equal access to a legally and internationally recognized certificate.
Reports show significant interest in the exams scheduled for June in Darfur, in contrast to the situation in areas under the Tasis alliance in Kordofan.
A teacher in a Kordofan school told Atar the exam issue has become political, noting that throughout RSF control there was no support for education and most schools remained closed.
The teacher, who requested anonymity, said schools which operated intermittently over three years, were funded through local community efforts or direct support from local and international civil society organizations.
He described Tasi’s plans for exams as a leap into the unknown and an attempt to evade core responsibilities of education, with exams meant to culminate, not replace, the learning process.
He added that current conditions do not allow for exams, as students have not studied, schools are largely destroyed, and teachers are displaced, refugees, or have left the profession. He said a comprehensive national framework agreed politically and backed by international guarantees would be a more viable path for holding examinations.
Tasis Certificate: will it be recognized?
In a press conference held on March 17, the Ministry of Education under the civil administration in Central Darfur announced the launch of the exams for 2026, scheduled for early June, with exam centres set up in Zalingei and other towns across the state’s localities.
The administration urged families of students in the 2023, 2024, and 2025 cohorts to promptly register in order to take advantage of the opportunity.
According to the digital platform of the Secretariat of the Central Darfur State government, operating under the Tasis alliance administration, the examinations department said in response to journalists’ questions that guarantees exist for the post-exam phase, including recognition of the certificate and university admission, allowing students in these critical circumstances to sit for the exams.
It added that the certificate will be internationally recognized and will ensure entry into regional and global universities, which are expected to open branches inside Sudan, alongside the construction of new university cities and the reopening of suspended universities.
The ministry, under the Tasis alliance acknowledged challenges including the deterioration of the learning environment, lack of seating and shortages of qualified staff, but said these obstacles would be overcome through joint popular and official efforts.
A source at the Ministry of Education under the civil administration in Central Darfur told Atar that the teaching process and examinations will follow the same Sudanese curriculum used before recent amendments introduced in SAF-controlled areas, noting that a select group of teachers from across the country will correct the exams and compile results in Nyala, South Darfur.
Nadhir Abdullah Baram, the deputy head of the TTCSSE and education director in the Nuba Mountains in areas controlled by the SPLM-N/Al-Hilu, told Atar that there is a plan to open universities in their areas of control.
He said universities in countries such as Kenya, South Sudan, Uganda, and several West African states have expressed willingness to receive students, adding:
“With further coordination and follow-up with these countries, we will be able to secure many seats for our students. These are friendly countries to the Tasis government.”
Nuba Mountains: Who will sit the exams and how?
Baram said the process of identifying and registering students for exams began on March 4 and will continue until April 7 in SPLM-N/Al-Hilu controlled areas in South Kordofan, allied with the Rapid Support Forces under the Tasis coalition.
He noted that a comprehensive plan has been developed to secure invigilation and marking teams, adding that the target includes students from 2023 through the current year.
Baram noted that these exams target all students in areas under the control of the Tasis alliance, including those in villages, rural communities, and displacement and refugee camps. He said registration forms will reach every student wishing to sit for the exams, and those who miss registration may still arrive two hours before the exam to complete the process and then take the test.
Baram told Atar that the designated fees are 40,000 pounds for public schools and 50,000 pounds for private schools, with all proceeds allocated to examination procedures within the states. He added that the TTCSSE has developed a financial plan for conducting the exams and submitted it to the Tasis government at the national level for funding.
He confirmed that all teachers in their areas have been identified and will form the backbone of the examination process, stating that all state education directors and secondary school directors are members of the TTCSSE scheduled for June. Regarding students who have lost identification documents, he said committees in each state are tasked with investigating and verifying every student who has lost their papers.
Baram views their move as “primarily an ethical and professional step,” as he put it, stressing that these students have the right to sit for examinations and join universities within their areas of control as well as outside Sudan, describing this as “a right that does not lapse with time.”
“These exams uphold professional ethics while ensuring full integrity and confidentiality,” he said.
Baram revealed that the exams will be conducted using the old curriculum and the “New Sudan” curriculum in areas under his movement’s control, saying:
“Each student will sit the exam according to the curriculum they studied.”
He noted that the education system in SPLM-N/Al-Hilu controlled areas differs in curriculum and assessment from other Tasis-controlled regions, adding that efforts are underway to regularize the status of displaced students in their areas.
He said the exams will not be unified, disclosing that students in SPLM-N/Al-Hilu areas sat for the secondary school certificate exam a month ago and are now awaiting results.
He added that those expected to sit the upcoming June exams are students displaced from Kadugli and Ad-Dilling who have recently arrived in their areas.
Political move or educational necessity?
After Tasis announced the exams and reopened schools, the government in Port Sudan suspended teachers’ salaries in our areas of control.
Hafez Omar, head of the Tasis Technical Committee for Secondary School Exams
Hafez Omar, the head of the TTCSSE and education minister in the civil administration of South Darfur State, under RSF-controll, told Atar they began reopening schools and gathering students after the Rapid Support Forces took control of the 16th Infantry Division in Nyala in October 2023.
He said the ministry faced several challenges, including airstrikes, but managed to convince parents of the importance of education and school enrollment.
“We believe that if we want to build a civilian state, it will be through education. That is why we insisted on reopening schools and ensuring our children are inside classrooms instead of being in the streets exposed to drug dealers,”Hafez said.
He said they succeeded in holding examinations for intermediate-level students in 2024, with about 2,470 sitting at the time, as more parents were persuaded to enroll their children in schools. This, he said, enabled them to reopen schools in 14 of the 21 localities, increasing the number of students sitting primary and intermediate exams in 2025 to nearly 7,600.
For the 2025–2026 academic year, Hafez said, more than 200 schools are currently operating across all localities in South Darfur State. He added that over 24,000 students have registered for the primary and intermediate certificate exams, scheduled to be held on April 4.
One of the biggest challenges they face, Hafez said, is teachers’ salaries and incentives, noting that for three years teachers in South Darfur have been working voluntarily without pay. He said efforts to address the issue are underway.
He added that immediately after the announcement of the exams and the reopening of schools, the government in Port Sudan suspended teachers’ salaries, describing the move as “a major offense that disrupts civil service and must be held accountable, as teachers are fulfilling their duties, and the ministry in Port Sudan must do its part as well.”
He stressed that education should not be politicized and that war does not suspend the right to learning.
According to Hafez, the number of students registered for the 2023 exams before the outbreak of war in South Darfur State stood at 35,866, including 21,000 female students, all of whom were subsequently denied the SNSSE for three consecutive years.
Hafez acknowledged the absence of statistics on eligible candidates for the 2024 and 2025 exams, as many have been displaced while others have turned to work in mining areas, markets, and other jobs. He said the number of teachers in South Darfur State is about 6,000.
Hafez confirmed that preparations to ensure the success of the secondary school exams scheduled for next June have been completed, adding that all parties, teachers, parents, students, and the Tasis government, are cooperating toward that goal.
He also said they are working to open universities in their areas of control, alongside opportunities to be provided by what he described as friendly and peace-loving countries, which have expressed willingness to offer scholarships for students to enroll in their universities.
Students in Chad and unpaid teachers
In West Darfur State, Laila Jad al-Rabb, the education minister under the Tasis alliance, told Atar that the number of students registered for the secondary school exams in the state stands at 2,523.
She noted that a large number of students from the state are currently displaced in Chad, where they are studying in preparation for sitting the exams there with support from international organizations.
She said the teachers instructing them are Sudanese and will also serve as exam supervisors.
Inside the state, Jad al-Rabb said only 52 teachers are currently officially registered with the ministry, while the rest are retirees and volunteers who are being trained to supervise and mark examinations.
She added that some students have managed to enroll in Chadian schools and have taken their final secondary exams there, though their number remains limited due to high fees and the heavy cost of studying in Chad.
“When you enroll in a Chadian school, you are required to present a qualification certificate, which costs nine Chadian francs, equivalent to about 27,000 Sudanese pounds. These are costs a displaced person cannot afford,” she said.
Jad al-Rabb revealed that two of the state’s eight localities have been excluded from this year’s examination cycle. She said that, in Sirba locality, there has been no functioning secondary school since the start of the war due to the absence of students, noting that most of its secondary school pupils fled to eastern Chad following large-scale attacks.
She said schooling in Habila locality has been suspended after teachers refused to teach students since late November last year due to unpaid salaries. She added that an organization had previously been covering teachers’ salaries but stopped in November, after which local teachers refused to resume the education process despite efforts made with them.
She also said that Sudanese students residing in refugee camps in Chad are being educated under commitments from international humanitarian organizations, which provide services and pay teachers’ salaries.
She further disclosed that a committee affiliated with the Tasis alliance has conducted visits to 17 countries in East, Central and West Africa, aiming to reach agreements for secondary school graduates from Tasis-controlled areas to enroll in universities there.
Those countries, she said, had given commitments and pledges to accept students and offer scholarships.
